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PATENTED JAN. 26, 1904.

No. 750,407. r 1 E. G. SLEMMER. GANNING DEVICE EoE FRUITS 0 VEGETABLES,

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1903. N0 MODEL. n

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wifgzsszs .vi W W l/ I I wa l Patented January 26, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK G. SLEMMER, OF GOLDSBORO, MARYLAND.

CANNING DEVICE FOR FRUITS OR VEGETABLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,407, dated anuary 26, 1904.

Application filed September 1'7, 1903- Serial No, 173,596. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK G. SLEMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Goldsboro, in the county of Caroline and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Canning Device for Fruits or Vegetables, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a canning device for fruits and vegetables which comprises in the construction thereof a portable heater of a peculiar construction whereby it is adapted to support a plurality of canning and scalding tanks in such a manner that not only the bottoms but also the sides of said tanks shall be exposed to the direct action of the flames, whereby the contents of said tanks may be very quickly raised to the boiling-point and maintained at the same, the consequence being that by my improved device the work of canning may be proceeded with in a more rapid, ready, and consecutive manner than by devices of this class as ordinarily used.

My invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts having for their object to provide a device of the character described which shall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability, and general efliciency, as will be hereinafter .fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a simple and preferred form of my invention; but I desire it to be understood that top plan view. Fig. 4: is a detail view showing a modification.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similar numerals of reference.

The heater 1, which constitutes the principal part of my invention, consists in this case of an elongated tank-like structure, which in the present instance has been shown as being rectangular in a horizontal plane, the lower end being narrower than the upper end, owing to the side pieces of said structure being extended or bulged outwardly, as shown at 2. One end of this tank-like structure is provided with a fire-door 3, underneath which draft-openings 4 are formed, and the opposite end of the structure has a pipe 5 for the escape of smoke and other products of combustion. The side pieces 6 6 of the heater are provided at a distance from their upper edges each with a plurality of brackets 7, which may be'formed integral with the said sides, or they may be and are preferably formed separately and provided with hooks 8 or other means whereby they may be connected with the sides of the heater-casing, which in this instance will require to be provided with suitably-disposed loops or recesses, as 9, extending downwardly and outwardly in the sides of the casing to receive the hook members of the brackets. This modified construction has been illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

The upper edge of the tank-like structure which constitutes the heater is provided with an inwardly-extending flange 10, which is of less width than the brackets 7, which latter protrude below the flanged end a sufficient distance to form supports for a plurality of tanks 11, which are supported detachably upon the said brackets. The heater structure is also provided with a plurality of crosspieces 15, whereby it is provided with a plurality of compartments, each for the reception of one of the tanks 11, which should fit nicely between the inner edges of the flanges 10, the cross-pieces, and the ends of the heatercasing, theobject of this being obviously to avoidthe leakage of smoke through the openings between the tanks and the surrounding flange. The cross-pieces 15 are provided with depending inverted-T-shaped lugs 16, which assist in supporting the tanks and in distributing or dividing the strain of the weight of said tanks.

' construction.

It will be observed that when the several tanks, of which three have been shown in the accompanying drawings, are placed in position they will be supported upon the brackets 7 above the fire chamber, which extends through the entire length of the heater, but in such a manner that the flames evolved by the combustion of fuel shall be free to enter the spaces 12 above the brackets 7 and between the sides and flanges of the heater and the sides of the tanks, the contents of which will thus be subjected to a degree of heat whereby their contents will be quickly raised to the desired temperature.

The several tanks in the scheme of my invention may be utilized for several purposes. When canning fruit, such as tomatoes, one of the tanks may be reserved for a scalding-tank, a scalding-basket of ordinary construction being provided. In this case two tanks are reserved for the cooking of the tomatoes after they have been placed in cans and the latter sealed up. Wire baskets of the usual construction, each capable of holding, say, one dozen cans and which are adapted to fit neatly within the tanks, are also provided, as shown at 20 in Fig. 1, the tanks being usually made of a depth sufficient to hold two such baskets, which may be placed in the tanks and removed therefrom by lifting-tongs,which are also of well-known Every variety of fruits and vegetables may thus be canned by the use of my improved apparatus in a very rapid and convenient manner, it being obvious, of course, that my improved device is adapted more es pecially for the purposes of individual farmers and others who desire to pursue canning for commercial purposes, but on a scale limited by their individual production. The use of the invention, however, is by no means limited, inasmuch as it may be utilized on a large scale with excellent economical results. It is also obvious that the device when not in use for canning purposes may be advantageously utilized for such purposes as boiling feed for stock, for rendering lard, and for a variety of other purposes which it is not necessary here to mention.

Having thus described my invention, I clairn 1. In a device of the class described, a tanklike heater-body having an inwardly-extending flange extending entirely around the upper edge thereof and provided with cross-bars connecting opposite sides of the flange, supporting-brackets disposed interiorly upon the sides of said body and protruding beyond the inner edge of the top flange, and tanks fitting closely in the openings or compartments thus formed.

2. In a device of the class described, a tanklike heater-body having an inwardly-extending flange extending entirely around the upper edge thereof and provided with cross-bars connecting opposite sides of the flange, supporting-brackets disposed interiorly upon the sides of said body and protruding beyond the inner edge of the top flange, inverted-T-shape lugs depending from the cross-bars and forming additional supports, and tanks fitting closely in the openings or compartments thus formed.

3. Ina device of the class described, a tanklike heater-body having a circumferential,inwardly-extending flange, cross-bars provided with depending inverted-T-shaped lugs, the side walls of said tank being provided on their inner sides with downwardly and outwardly extending recesses, in combination with supporting-brackets having hooks engaging said recesses whereby said brackets are supported detachably in the same horizontal plane as the cross-bars of the inverted-T-shaped lugs, and tanks tightly fitting in the openings in the top of the heater and supported by said brackets and inverted-T-shaped lugs.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK G. SLEMMER.

Witnesses:

JOHN T. BILES, GEORGE H. BERRY. 

